Captured!
by Zane-Ice-Fairy
Summary: Zane is captured by the Serpentine-but is it random, or do they have a plan for our favorite white ninja? First fanfic-MERCY!
1. Chapter 1

Captured!

Zane looked around for an exit anywhere, even though he'd been doing that same activity since morning. Reluctantly, he sat down and got into a meditative position. _Calm thought is the best way to get out of a tough situation, _Zane silently reminded himself. Searching the room to make sure no snakes were hanging out, he closed his eyes and sunk into thought. His mind drifted back to yesterday, when this had all begun...

"Zane, breakfast is ready!" Jay yelled. It had been Zane's turn to prepare the training course for use after breakfast, and he gladly went into the kitchen- it was hard work early in the morning. Cole, Kai, Sensei Wu and Nya sat around the wooden table which already had some food bowls on it. He sat down, ready to eat-when suddenly, the room rippled. His head snapped up to find the room morphing into two-one being Destiny's Bounty, the other being a stone cavern where he saw Pythor, the ninja's main enemy at the moment. He was holding something up triumphantly for the Serpentine crowds, and it only took Zane a moment to recognize it-it was a silver fang blade! If Pythor achieved all of the blades, he would be able to resurrect the Great Devourer, a great snake evil, so he could have revenge on the people of Ninjago for imprisoning him in a tomb with the rest of the Serpentine. It looked as if he had found the first, but Zane's sixth sense told him this was from the future-but not far off.

"Zane! Buddy! Speak to me!" yelled a far-off voice... Zane shook his head and slowly sat up. Cole, Kai, Jay, Nya, and Sensei Wu knelt around him, looking worried. "Are you O.K.? One minute you were fine, the next you're on the floor!You really scared us!" Kai said as he helped Zane up. Zane, once he had his bearings, reassured his friends he was fine, and informed them of his vision.

"Are you sure? At first, you looked up real fast, then you gasped, which made US look up, then you fell out of your seat and started twitching around a lot and-" Jay said rapidly.

"O.K., he gets it!" Cole cried. He then looked down, frowning, at Zane. "Are you sure you're O.K.? You did fall pretty hard...what did you SEE, anyway?" Zane then told his friends about Pythor's up-and-coming discovery of the silver fang blade, making sure to remember any details he might have forgotten. When he was finished, Kai groaned.

"Great! Now WHERE exactly IS the fang blade? How do we know where to look to find it before he does?" Everyone agreed, and for a few seconds, all was silent as they all tried to figure out a plan. Suddenly, Zane sat up straighter with a smile on his face.

"I believe I know where he is."

Suddenly, a hissing snapped him back to reality. He opened his eyes to find Skales, the Hyboprani general, standing outside his cage.

"Come with me, ninja." hissed the snake, as some Fangpyre's opened the door. "Pythor wishes to speak with you." Zane stood and allowed himself to be led out into the stone passage. _Whatever Pythor wants, it isn't good, _Zane thought to himself. He had a bad feeling about this-but what choice did he have? He walked, with a growing sense of dread, up the hallway, Skales close behind. _Guys, wherever you are, come quickly! _he thought to himself.


	2. Chapter 2

Captured!

Kai stared down at the console, oblivious to the world around him. He was focused on his thoughts-his memories-of yesterday. Of how he'd failed Zane...

"I believe I know where he is." Kai and everyone else had looked up at Zane, their hopes soaring. If he knew where his vision of Pythor had come from, they could get to the first fang blade before the Serpentine did!

"Where did your vision take place in, Zane?" Sensei Wu asked calmly, ever one for rational thought even in tense situations.

"In my vision, I saw they were in a cave-with markings on the wall..." Zane remarked. "However, I recognized the markings, because I'd been in that cave. Actually, so has Cole. It's the Constricti's tomb!" The ninja grinned at each other. If they kept a close eye on the cave, they could get the first fang blade from Pythor!

"Alright, Zane!' cried Cole. "That's so cool! Sensei Wu stood up.

"When exactly was this vision?" he asked Zane. Zane frowned, concentrating.

"I-know it is from the future, not far off, but other than that..." he shrugged. "Sorry." Sensei Wu nodded, then turned to the others.

"We will need a security detail on the location of the Constricti's tomb at all times. The moment there is Serpentine activity, I want to know. If we succeed in capturing just one of the four fang blades, we will be able to stop Pythor completely in his plans to ressurect the great snake." Nya nodded, grinning.

"On it, Sensei." The ninja were really excited, and as they sat down to dinner, they quickly started to babble and congratulate Zane. For the first time in over a week, they had something on Pythor! Tommorow, Nya would organize a guard schedule for them-but for now, celebrating was enough.

* * *

><p>Two days later found two ninja training-and two keeping a close eye on the Temple of a Thousand Steps, the location of the tomb. Kai and Zane were the latter group, and they'd been watching for about two hours. Kai was quickly falling asleep after SO much sitting still in the warm sun, and it seemed that Zane was, too, falling asleep-or was at least a statue-but he was just meditating, as he could do for many more hours than two. It was about time for them to report "No Activity" when-SURPRISE!-there was! Zane was sitting on a flat rock, when suddenly, he heard some rocks fall next to him. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and looked up, so as not to alert whoever was up there that he knew they were. Aha! Creeping along behind a bluff were some Fangpyres-with a fang blade! Zane pretended he hadn't seen them, and let them pass out of his sight. As soon as they were, he jumped up, shook Kai awake, and told him of his sighting. Just then, more appeared, but at such an angle where they couldn't see the two ninja. Kai and Zane grabbed their Golden Weapons, and slipped unseen up the cliff face to the entrance of the tomb. Kneeling behind an outcropping of rock, they planned their attack.<p>

"Okay, this is what we'll do," Kai said, drawing a map in the sand. "We'll go in the entrance, Spinjitzu our way around the room, grab fang blade, flip on out. Simple." Zane saw several flaws in that plan, but before he could say_ Wait_, Kai was gone.

"What-oomph!" Zane groaned, and he quickly flipped over the outcropping and to the tombs entrance, where Kai knelled.

"Come on! Let's go!" Kai hissed, gesturing to Zane to follow. They each took a side, leaned forward, and...dropped! In a second, their weapons were out, they were in position, and they were staring at...an empty room. Not a soul was in it! The ninja looked around, confused. They'd seen snakes-but where were they? The two looked at each other, stood up, and cautiously stepped forward off the small platform.

"I don't get it! Where are they?" cried Zane. Kai shrugged, feeling as confused as Zane looked. He searched the room all over, his eyes circling it again and again. And then the ground exploded. He flew across the room, and his head thunked into a hard something. For a few seconds, he felt light and sleepy, and what jolted him out of THAT was the sensation of falling. He saw the spinning ceiling rising away from him-and then a hand grabbed at his wrist.

"Kai!" cried Zane's faraway voice- and then, magically, his head felt fine. The room steadied, and he realized he was hanging over a deep hole.

"Ah!"he cried, scrambling up the dirt wall as Zane pulled him up over the edge. but hardly a second passed before Zane cried out and was pulled backwards, and Kai felt hands grab at him. Instinctively, he whipped around and punched the snake in the face, jumped out of his arm's reach, and looked around wildly for Zane. But there were to many snakes, and he was being forced onto the pedestal, and his Sword of Fire was gone, and-

"Kai!" yelled a voice, and suddenly he was being pulled upwards, out of the tomb, and a robotic voice was saying "_Magnetizer, activate," _and he was soaring higher and higher, crying out, as Jay later told him, Zane, Zane, Zane...

He pressed his eyes shut and grit his teeth. _We're gonna find you, Zane. Don't you worry._

* * *

><p>Zane stared up at Pythor like he was insane-because, well, he thought he just might be.<p>

"You want me to WHAT? I can't-I can't- do that! No one can! No one but a god!" Zane stammered. Pythor glared down at him.

"Then how do you explain what you did to your freind?" he asked coldly.

"What?" Pythor raised his eyebrows, surprised.

"You really don't know, do you?"

Zane stared up at him. He could feel the curiosity growing inside him, like a seed. He breathed in, straightened up , and said, quite calmly, "Don't know what?"


	3. Chapter 3

Captured!

Cole was pouring over all the info they had on the Serpentine, in any data bank or book, ever. He groaned and leaned back, rubbing his eyes. He'd been sitting there for two hours straight, not looking up once. He, Jay, and Nya had been looking for any hint of Zane's location since he'd been kidnapped last afternoon. It was nighttime now, and they still were at square one, which he was infuriated about. He HATED feeling helpless.

"Any luck?" groaned Jay, leaning back and yawning. His blonde hair was sticking up every which way, and he had huge circles under his eyes.

"Nada, Jay." Jay sighed, the look on his face saying '_same here.'_ Cole frowned, looking down at the pages he'd been staring at for the last few hours. _Frosty, buddy...where are you?_

Pythor wasn't shocked easily. He'd had a lot of practice to learn to control that. But even he was shocked at this. How had Wu hidden it from the boy? How could he have? The raw, untapped power the boy possessed...but that was it, wasn't it? Leave it dormant-let sleeping dogs lie. At least till now.

"Don't know what?" Zane asked. Pythor had to give him points for composure. He leaned forward, a smile forming from his lips.

"Didn't your precious _Sensei _ever tell you, boy? Or is he more...secretive...than he seems?"

The ninja's face didn't even twitch. "You can't fool me with deceit and lying, Pythor. Just tell me what happened." _Wu has trained him well, _thought Pythor.

"Oh, boy...you can't simply explain being a healer. Being..._part-god._ And the look of shock on Zane's face was so absolute, Pythor couldn't hide his smile.

Kai was sitting alone in the bird's nest of Destiny's Bounty. He hadn't talked much to anyone since he'd been rescued from the Constricti tomb. He'd brought up data, books, and maps to try and figure out Zane's location, but so far, he had had no luck. He pressed his hands to his face in despair. _Zane's been captured and it's my entire fault! _The thought hadn't left him all day. Suddenly, he heard the flutter of wings. He looked up to find Falcon, Zane's friend, landing next to him.

"Hey, little buddy. Sorry about all this-it's my entire fault..." he sighed and leaned back against the wooden wall. Falcon started walking all over the maps and moving them, but Kai didn't move to stop him. He grabbed another book, and flipped it open, determination filling him. For a few seconds, he read, but then he felt Falcon pecking at his feet. He tried to ignore him, but all of a sudden, he was hanging over the book.

"What is it? I'm kind of on a mission here." Falcon fluttered over to a map and landed on it, scratching at where the (former) Lost City of Osobouros was. Kai immediately understood what Falcon was getting at, but he shook his head.

"Nah, we searched there. No Zane." But Falcon wouldn't listen. He started digging into the map with his talons, making deep dents.

"Hey! Stop! You're ripping..." but then something clicked. "Hey..." he mused."Are you saying...that they built tunnels UNDER Osobouros, like they've been doing with all the tombs?" He was suddenly really excited, and he felt the happiest he had in a day when the Falcon nodded and hopped up and down excitedly. "YES! So Zane isn't IN Osobouros-he's UNDER it!" Kai jumped up, yelling with joy. "Cole! Jay! Nya! Guys! I found him! I've found Zane!" He knelt down and nearly hugged the bird, but he invited it onto his arm instead. "Thanks, little buddy. You're a ... conscious savior." He scrambled down the rope to the deck, Falcon taking off into the night. He could see the others running onto the deck below him, waiting for the first good news they'd had in a day.

He flew through the air, the wind stroking his metal body. He couldn't take pleasure in this tonight, though. He was to worried about Zane-and the discovery. He flew up into the cave he'd been coming to for a long time-a cave he'd hoped Zane would never know existed. He drifted into it, gliding along for a few minutes, before he saw the light. He landed on some sort of machine, and stared at the man standing with his back to him.

"So. He knows." said the man.

"You're quick, aren't you? So...what now?"

The man sighed, turned around. "He won't be...happy, I suppose."

Falcon rolled his eyes. "Well, I'd guess not!"

The man frowned. "I...won't know what to...to tell him..." the man sat at a bench, smoothing his coat. "I won't know how to tell him I'm his father, and I never died-that I can't die."


	4. Chapter 4

Captured!

**First author's note! Yay! I just wanted to thank you guys for all the great reviews-I didn't expect one, let alone 14!(= Thank you all tons! BTW, Ayuki Karpy, your stories are amazing!**

Zane was ice. He was rarely ever surprised, even when the guys tried to scare him for a week last month, let alone in complete and total shock. But he was certainly in that situation right now. _Part-god? _Was Pythor crazy? Zane had a sixth-sense, yes, but he certainly wasn't PART-GOD! Pythor had obviously gone off the deep-end-all the Serpentine were looking at him like he was insane as well. Zane shook his head, immediately hiding his emotions-a bit too late of course. Pythor was smiling like Zane had given him a fang blade.

"You...are...crazy. I'm no more part god than you are sane." Pythor rolled his eyes, but Zane caught a look of bewilderment in them. He wondered what about...

"Why would I lie to you about this? What possible advantage could it give me?" Pythor questioned the boy, eyebrows raised. Zane had to admit, he had a point. Even Pythor knew not trick Zane with lies about his team, or 'twisted truths'-Zane wouldn't respond to them. So, could he, this once, be...no! It was impossible!

"Uh, if you haven't noticed, I'm an orphan.(Going with thought that Zane knows he's a robot, but snake don't, _or so the ninja think,_ and the ninja don't want a big reveal) Again, Pythor rolled his eyes.

"Yes,_ because, _your father was a god!" Zane stared at Pythor cynically. "Listen, boy, the father you remember from your time as a child was a robot, like yourself, and-" the temperature dropped about 15 degrees in two seconds. Pythor's head whipped around, and he looked about for a few seconds before his head snapped to Zane. The shock on his face was the most a human could muster, and it wasn't nearly the shock Zane _felt._ _How...how...does he...know...I'm a...ROBOT?_

Kai, Cole, Jay, and Nya rushed around the control room of Destiny's Bounty. They were hours away from Osobouros-the snakes had had over a day's heads start.

"Kai, can't the engines go any faster?" asked Jay worriedly. Kai clapped him on the shoulder, smiling. He was still so thrilled about finding Zane. Finally, he'd helped out, and felt normal for the first time since the tomb.

"I've got 'em on full, buddy. Don't worry. We'll get him back." Cole walked up to them and nodded.

"And we're ALSO gonna make them pay for kidnapping him in the first place.' Cole growled. Jay and Kai nodded decidedly, scowling at the thought of their brother in trouble.

"Okay guys, we've got an all-night ride to Osobouros. We should be arriving at around 7:00 in the morning." Nya stated, coming over to the guys with some papers piled up in her arms.

"And we are gonna spend the night coming up with a sneak-attack plan to save him." stated Jay. The guys nodded vigorously, to which Nya shook her head and dumped the papers on the table.

"You have half the night. Zane will stay in Osobouros if you have an amazing plan to save him, but you're to tired to carry it out." Nya smartly argued. The guys reluctantly promised, and Nya went to the helm to steer the ship. Kai and the others started preparing at once, and once again on the Bounty, hope was in the air.

Sensei Wu sat quite still, meditating with the Seeing Smokes. He had been sitting for half-an-hour before it came to him. A cavern-blood-a scream-and then, the very air glowed with frost and light. The room seemed to turn-Zane! But he was not the Zane Sensei knew-he was floating in the ruins of what looked to be an army, glowing with ice and light, a look of pure horror on his face and in his eyes, staring down at a body in his arms, that seemed to be dressed in black-_Cole?-_the vision was gone as soon as it began. Sensei stood, shocked. Had that been Zane, and...Cole? Oh, the gods forbid it...

Pythor stared at the boy, shivering. As his shock faded and he struggled to get a hold on his emotions, the temperature faded to normal, and it seemed a shroud of darkness was lifted from the room, like they had missed it growing darker, but now that the light was back, they saw. He was in a level of shock himself-how had the boy done it so suddenly, so...shock did odd things to people-or machines, he supposed. Trying to regain some control of the moment, he stared at the boy again, and realized he was breathing heavily.

"Well...that was Exhibit A." Zane stared at him, not saying a word. A thought crossed Pythor's mind-_Don't open a can of worms you can't close, Pythor. The worms might not be to nice._ Looking down at the boy, into his eyes, he had the oddest feeling he'd already opened it.

**Chapter 4 done! Sorry they're all rather short, but this is my first one, so I'm just getting into the groove. Just in case anyone was wondering, Cole, Jay, Nya, and Sensei Wu will get more coverage in the next few chapters, and about Lloyd, he's still the Serpentine's prisoner. He'll show up to, don't worry!(= Thanks again for all the great reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

Captured!

**Chapter 5! A special thanks to Ayuki Karpy for her last review(= Quick disclaimer: I don't own Ninjago!**

Jay yawned and sat up in bed, rubbing his eyes. Quickly, memories of last night filled his head-staying up really late planning Zane's rescue mission, pouring over maps and papers, and finally, Nya dragging them all off to bed in the early hours of the morning. They had fallen asleep almost immeadietly, and Jay was the first to wake up. He slowly slid to the floor, and tiptoed to the bathroom. He freshened up for a minute, then went to the bedroom to wake the others. He climbed up the ladder to Cole's bed quietly.

"Cole. Hey, Cole. Wake up." Cole rolled over, grumbling something about dancing before four A.M. Jay smirked, and shook him by the shoulder. "Hey, wake up, buddy. We've got a brother to save." Cole groaned and sat up, his hair sticking up all over.

"Whasgoinon-" he muttered, shaking his head and stretching. Jay climbed down the ladder and and walked over to Kai's bed to wake him. He shook him awake, and he sat up slowly, running his hands through his hair and groaning. _Wow, we really can't stay up._

Oh, man, I'm really proud of our work last night, but...MAN am I tired." Kai groaned, getting up and following Cole into the bathroom. A few minutes later, three now-awake and prepared ninjas stood in the control room of Destiny's Bounty with an alert but still pajama-clad Nya. Sensei Wu was a no-show, but they weren't paying attention to that. "How much more time we got, Sis?' Kai asked Nya. They all looked at the control panel, the guys hoping it was a short time. They were aching to kick some Serpentine butt.

"We're almost there!" Nya cried excitedly. "Just ten more minutes!" The ninja whopped and, high-fiving, they went to train and go over their plan.

Zane sat in his cell, staring at the floor, as he'd been doing for several hours. He couldn't move- could barely breath- without feeling the intense need to scream. The night-day-what did it matter?-had passed in a blur. Pythor had KNOWN. He knew he was a...a robot. But that was the least of his thoughts...

"_Well...that was exhibit A." Zane had stared at Pythor, his shock to great for him to muster a word in response. Pythor had swallowed, almost nervous, and Zane had finally responded. "How..do you know...I'm a...robot?" Pythor had raised himself tall and mustered a smirk, though it was forced. "We know because of...well...fate, boy." Zane stared at him, utterly confused. Pythor sighed, and dropped all pretenses. "Your father is a god. During the Serpentine War, the gods were often seen by mortals, as they would often visit us to strike fear into our hearts, but not actually attack us, as is the Law. I saw your father many a time with the other gods. Of course, you're wondering, how do we know it was your father we saw...well, your father is the god of making, creating, constructing. And one of the things he constructs are...robots. The gods let them help the mortals reconstruct cities and other things destroyed in our path. When we came across a workshop of his one day...we found schematics for you. We didn't know you were going to be a future enemy, but the moment we saw you first in battle, we recognized you." He had shrugged then, looking at Zane with what looked like...pity. "Your father no doubt imbued you with god-like powers, due to the rapid tempature change you did just now...and so, there you have it. That's all I know, for sure." Zane had stood in shock for a few moments, and then he had woken up._

_"No!" he had screamed at Pythor. "No! I am not a god's...son! You're...crazy! Plain crazy!" I refuse to believe you!" Pythor had frowned, his face seeming almost...resigned._

_"Whatever you wish, boy.' he had sighed. 'Take him away." The same group of snakes came forward, but they were much slower and reverent, like Zane'd blast them to bits at any moment. They led him, out of the great room and back down the hallway, back to his cell. _He'd been there for hours, though he didn't really care. Was he...was he part-god? No. He...couldn't be. right? He had made the tempature change...he'd felt it. Felt the shiver up his spine, had felt a rush of...something through his body. Could he really...NO! It wasn't possible. Was it?

Lloyd sat in his cage, groaning in hunger. He hadn't had candy in weeks, let alone real food! Where were those stupid snakes anyway-suddenly, Skales slithered into the room, but he looked...different. Like he was scared or something. What could he be scared of? He slinked over to the cage, and...unlocked the door. _Huh? _Lloyd thought.

"Come with me, boy. You are needed for a...presentation." And as quick as you please, he reached in and dragged Lloyd out and across the room, towards the door.

"Hey! What do you want with me?" yelled Lloyd, scared.

"To prove a point, young one. And for your sake...I hope it works." Lloyd felt very scared as he was dragged up the passageway to ninja-knew-what.

Sensei wu could here them on deck, preparing to go rescue Zane and Lloyd_ But will it be at the price of Cole? _he thought to himself. But he knew he couldn't stop the fates of others. If Cole was to die...he got up, horrified to face them, but knowing he had to. _Oh gods, if you can..spare his life_. He went out to see them off.

**So, here it is! And by the way, if ya want to, try to guess who the "figure in black" is! (;**


	6. Chapter 6

Captured!

Kai, Cole, and Jay stood on the deck of HQ, ready to launch off to Osobouros, Golden Weapons on their backs. Nya stood with them, waiting for Sensei Wu. He hadn't been seen all morning, which they were starting to get worried about.

"Where could he be?" asked Jay nervously. "We haven't seen him since last night." Kai shrugged, not intensely worried.

"I saw him in his room this morning. What's to worry about?" But Cole didn't say anything. He was staring off the deck into the sky, lost in his own thoughts. _What if we're to late? what if Zane's alrea-NO. Don't think like that. He's fine. _Cole couldn't STOP thinking like that though. Something just...didn't feel right today. Suddenly, everyone was rushing away, and he realized Sensei had appeared. He looked really tired, like he'd stayed up all night because of horrible news-whoa, what was his PROBLEM today? He had the oddest sense of foreboding, like...like he was gonna LOSE something. Or something. Right...he went up to Sensei, pulling a smile onto his face.

"Hey, Sensei. You've been missed. Where've you been?" As he looked at Cole, Cole swore, for a split second, that a flash of intense pain had crossed his face. _Shut up!_ he yelled at the voice in his head. _Everything is FINE!_

"Oh, just worrying about Zane and Lloyd is all." Sensei responded, setting a hand on Cole's shoulder. "But I know you'll get them back." Cole grinned, even though he felt like yelling.

"You bet, Sensei." Then, Nya rushed over, smiling nervously.

"Alright, guys! We're over the drop zone!" They all said quick goodbyes to Sensei, and, in mere moments, they flew off the deck of the ship, grasping their Golden Weapons and hurtling to...something. Cole breathed in the earth-rich air deeply, but, oddly enough, today it held no comfort.

Zane heard the dry rustle of a snake general's tail, but he didn't look up. Again, intense need to scream. For a moment, all was silent. But just a moment.

"Boy, we have something of yours." Zane, breathing deeply, forced his head up, and blanched. Lloyd was tied to Skales, and he was pale and scared. In all the commotion, Zane had forgotten that he was here. Skales gestured to the nine-year old.

"Come with us." Zane didn't have much choice. _Or do you..._ muttered the small voice in his head. He squeezed his eyes shut for a second, then got up and went through the open door to Skales. The snake motioned for him to go ahead, and he walked in front of them, guarded by the Fangpyere general. After a few minutes, they emerged in the room they were in hours before, only now, the entire Serpentine army seemed to be in it-though luckily not armed. Pythor was standing on the same dais as before, with an array of Venomari on his sides. Zane and Lloyd were walked up to him, with all the Serpentine staring mainly at Zane. For a moment, the two just stared at each other. Then, Pythor spoke.

"Do you believe me yet?" Zane kept his mouth shut, to-unsure-himself to answer. Pythor raised his eyebrows. "I take that as a no..." Zane again stood silent. Pythor sighed, and motioned to Skales. He slithered forward and handed Lloyd's bonds to Pythor. He pulled the trembling boy onto the dais, and looked down at Zane. "Then I guess we'll have to prove it to you. On a stand behind Pythor, a katana gleamed.

Jay snuck around the outer wall of Osobouros alongside Cole and Kai. They were approaching the front entrance, and Jay was slightly nervous. He checked out his teammates for similar signs of nervousness. Cole was focused and yet...he wasn't. It was like he was in his own thoughts or something. Jay was worried-they all needed to be focused and on their game. Kai was revved up and ready to go-he just wanted to get Zane and apologize, poor guy. The guilt had been on his conscience the whole time.

"Alright, guys. We're at the front doors. We're going in." The three tensed up, and flipped on into Osobouros.

Zane stiffened, and he felt the same odd rush again-like ice flowing flash-fast up his spine. He was suddenly standing directly in front of Pythor, fists clenched."Keep your filthy hands off of him."

Pythor scrambled backward so fast, he nearly tripped over his own tail. He reached slowly backward and grabbed for the katana. Zane flashed forward, but Pythor swung it directly at his face. He was forced to jump backward, right into the Venomari's waiting arms. He struggled as hard as he could, and was about to use Spinjitzu, when Pythor yelled out "Stop!" The katana was less than an inch away from Lloyd's throat, and Pythor was staring directly at Zane. "If this is the way to prove it...so be it." Zane screamed as the katana flashed.

Kai was leading the way across the massive slither pit in the city. Not one snake had shown its head, so he figured they must all be underground. They stopped in the middle of the circle, looking around. Nothing seemed to be happening. Kai was surprised. He thought Pythor was smarter. He knew they'd come after their friends-shouldn't he have a guard up?

"Guys, look!" cried Jay's voice. They followed him over to a stone wall that was bare except for a snake head sticking out of it.

"What?" asked Cole. "This is an interesting wall and all, but-"

"No, look!" He gestured to the sandy ground, and Kai soon got it. Hundreds of footprints led right to the wall, and then vanished underneath it. Jay confidently leaned over and pulled on the snake head, which twisted down. The wall groaned, and pulled upwards, opening.

"Alright, Jay!" cried Kai, grinning. "Now we're getting somewhere!" They slipped into the passage, and crept down a long dirt path for several minutes. After a while, Kai began to see light ahead, and hear voices. He motioned to the others, and they all came to a stop.

"Okay, now what? Obviously, there are a lot of them down there, so..." Jay asked. Kai nodded, and turned to Cole.

"I say travel in shadows. Edge of the pack, slip around to the lower levels, if the guys aren't already in there." Cole offered. Kai agreed with him, and the three quietly went up to the door from which torchlight was spilling. Voices came from inside, some loud, some softer. Then, there was a yell. As quickly and silently as possible, they went in-and stopped dead. They had a clear view to the dais on which Pythor was standing-_with a katana to Lloyd's neck. _Kai stiffened and gasped. He felt the others do the same. A split second later, they saw Zane struggling against some Venomari, fury filling his face.

"If this is the way to prove it...so be it." Pythor said. For one second, the world stopped. Everything in it...froze. And then Pythor twitched. The light caught the katana just as-Kai eyes flinched shut despite himself. A scream filled the room-a scream of horror, of shock, of pain, of...guilt. Then silence. Kai forced his eyes open, ripping them away from the dais and toward Zane. His face was frozen in a mask of revulsion and horror, as Kai imagined his was. Zane looked up at Pythor slowly, his eyes hardening already.

"You...you...no..." Zane started to tremble. Kai suddenly forgot about Lloyd. About Sensei. The guys. All he could see was...Zane. His eyes began to glow, and the snakes holding him screamed and flew backward. _He_ began to glow, and his fists clenched. He seemed to almost flow forward, glowing evermore brightly, and heading straight for Pythor.

"You...monster. You will pay for that. You will pay for **EVERYTHING.**" Kai felt, for the first time in his life..._real _fear in his chest. He didn't say a word. He just backed up.

Lloyd was dead because of HIM. Lloyd was dead because of his failures. But he wouldn't fail. He wouldn't fail ever again... he stepped forward, towards the snake. The rage that was in him was indescribable, it was so huge. He felt the cold grow around him, and the room seemed to turn away, to nothing. All that was there was him. The snake. He seemed so small now, so silly. Easy to destroy. He moved again, and he was right in front of him, and he felt the cold in his core wrestle its way to the surface. He had said words, but they didn't matter. All that mattered was getting the cold out, onto him, onto all of them. And he let it. It was a feeling of pure ecstasy as the rage came out as cold. For a moment, he let it out all over, but then, he felt the three things. They felt...oddly familiar, as if he knew the things from somewhere. He didn't want to hurt those three-he could sense the goodness, the innocence in them. He let the cold go around them. Then he ignored them. He remembered someone in red-he'd healed him, hadn't he? So he HAD to heal Lloyd. NOW. The cold was out-the rage was gone. He gently reached down and picked up Lloyd, cradling him in his arms. The wound was serious-he was dead. Zane reached down deep. He felt for it, everywhere and nowhere. Ah, there it was. He pulled it up, the light swirling around them both, and he felt the little green light sink back into the boy through his chest. For a second the boy remained still. Then, he was sitting up, his throat restored. He looked around, and his eyes met Zane's. They widened, and a small sound came from the mouth of the boy. But the world was going dark, and sound held no meaning. The world was going dark...

Cole woke up in his bed. For a minute, he didn't believe it. It had been a dream. A crazy dream. Not true...couldn't be. And then he saw the falcon. It was standing on Zane's bedpost, looking at him. For a moment, the two stared at each other. Then, Cole got another shock.

"Well, if you're asking, it's real. All of it." Falcon said calmly. Cole reared back in surprise, but after a second, he shrugged and nodded.

"Figures you can talk. O.K., bird, tell...wait. That...all...happened?" Falcon nodded.

"Come on. We've been waiting for you. I've got quite a...presentation...to make today." And with that, he flew out the window, leaving Cole to get dressed with his thoughts.

Nya, Jay, Kai, Cole, Sensei Wu, Falcon,...and Lloyd sat around the table on Destiny's Bounty. They knew. All of it. Everything. And, to put it lightly, they were shocked beyond reason.

"I know this is a lot to take in right now, but it's all the truth. Sadly." Falcon said. Nya looked up, eyes full of tears.

"So...will Zane ever...come..." they all wanted to say it, but they just couldn't, Jay least of all. Falcon had told them that after Zane had ressurected Lloyd in the caverns, he had 'faded'-left this plane and had gone to the astral plane, supposed home of the gods. No one, not even Falcon, knew if he would return. Jay had been silent all morning-he was to sad to talk much. Zane was gone...as good as dead. Part-god? That was crazy! But he'd seen with his own eyes what Zane had done. How he'd...made the light-the freezing cold, glowing, screeching light-go around them. That, and only that, gave him comfort. Did Zane still remember them...still care for them? Maybe. Maybe... he heard Cole begin to speak, so he looked up.

"You know, I had the oddest feeling that we...were gonna lose something today. I thought that was fulfilled when I saw Lloyd killed." Cole looked at each of them-Nya's tear-streaked face, Jay's hopeless eyes, Kai's and Lloyd's still-shocked and incredibly guilty features. He then looked to Falcon, who was staring back at him with a mixture of guilt and resignation. "But I realize now what we lost today was Zane...what we lost today was...a brother."

And all is silent on the ship known as Destiny's Bounty.

FIN

**END OF BOOK ONE**

**Oh, yeah! CLIFFHANGER! I love 'em!(= But don't worry, you'll find out what happens in Book Two: Revealed! I'm making it a series. See ya next time! And thanks again for all the great reviews!**


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